Scourge of the Visorak
by Repicheep22
Summary: Chronicles of Huna Nui, Vol. 1 - The Toa Mata are sent by Mata Nui to wherever in the universe he thinks they are needed. Our heroes have made the island of Huna Nui their home, but a grave threat looms over the island. Can the Toa stop the Visorak?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

An explosion ripped through the clear morning air. Toa Tahu brought his lavaboard to the bank of the lava flow, and looked toward the source of the sound. Smoke was rising from the side of the volcano.

"Well," Tahu said to himself, "I'm glad it finally happened."

The explosion had been caused by a gas pocket which was too close to the lava flow. The liquid rock had melted its way into the pocket and ignited the gas, triggering an explosion. The pocket had been found quite by accident, when Kopaka had gone after a missing Matoran. Needless to say, the area had been off limits for quite some time.

About a half hour later, Tahu was standing on the edge of the newly formed crater.

"Wow," he thought, "I hope no one was hurt."

Scanning the edge of the crater, Tahu saw something white a little ways up the hill, lying on the ground. Wanting to know what it was, he moved closer. When he saw it was a Matoran, he broke into a run. He reached the Matoran to find him alive, breathing, and, amazingly, conscious.

"Toa Tahu?" he said.

"Shh. Don't speak. You're hurt," cautioned Tahu.

"No, I'm not. I'm fine."

"What! You don't call paralysis an injury?"

"Toa, my paralysis has nothing to do with the explosion."

"Come on. I'll carry you back to your village, and you can tell me what happened. Deal?"

"Fine. My name is Nari," replied the Matoran, as Tahu lifted him off the ground. "I was on my way to deliver a message to your Turaga, when I spotted some Rahi on that ridge over there. I'd never seen anything like them. They were very spider-like with big sets of pincers. I like to watch Rahi in my spare time, so I crouched behind a rock to watch them. One of them saw me and, instead of running, fired some sort of wheel from its back. Before I could move, it hit me in the face, and, when I tried to get up, I couldn't. They were coming towards me when the ground started shaking, and, all of a sudden, the ground blew up right under their feet. I don't know what happened to those Rahi, but I know they were coming for me, and I'm going to thank Mata Nui every day of my life for sending that explosion."

* * *

"Which icicle is it, Nari? I can't remember."

Tahu and Nari were in an ice cave looking for an icicle. There were probably close to two hundred in the cave, but they were looking for one in particular. The newly installed security system for the ice village required that one specific icicle be pulled, causing part of the back wall of the cave to open, revealing a switch board. Only by throwing the right switches in the right order could one get through.

"Here it is, Tahu," said Nari from Tahu's back.

Tahu pulled down on the icicle in front of him. It looked just like every other icicle in the cavern, but a "click-whirrrr" from the back of the cave confirmed their choice, as did the wall sliding to one side. He walked to the switchboard and deftly threw several switches. Another "click-whirrrrr" came from behind the wall, and the double doors swung wide open.

Tahu left Nari at the healer's home and went to find Kopaka. Finding him meditating, he left a note and went back to the healer's hut. When he arrived, he found Nari walking around.

"I do not know what is going on anymore than you do, Toa," said a voice in Tahu's head.

"What? Who said that?" shouted Tahu.

"Remember Tahu, your thoughts are open to me, but whatever caused his paralysis seems to have worn off. Other than a few cuts and bruises from the explosion, he is perfectly fine."

"Sorry, Turaga. I always forget about your Mask of Telepathy."

"You wanted to see me, Tahu?" said a voice behind him.

"Kopaka. Yes, I did. Look at this Matoran here. Tell me what you see."

"He's a little bruised, but I see nothing unusual about him."

"Well, a few minutes ago, he was paralyzed from the neck down. Nari, you know what happened better than I do. Tell Kopaka what happened to you."

* * *

"Toa, I have seen these creatures before," said the Turaga (using his mask) after Nari finished telling his story. "They are Visorak. I fought them when I was a Toa. They are terrible creatures. They travel from land to land, capturing Rahi, poisoning them, and turning them into monsters. If they capture the Matoran, there is no telling what they will do to them."

"But, perhaps those were the only Visorak to reach the island, Turaga," ventured Kopaka.

"No Toa, the Visorak travel in a great swarm. They hunt on an island until there is nothing left."

"That settles it then. We have no time to waste, Kopaka. I'm officially calling a meeting. I want you to gather Onua and Gali, and I will get Lewa and Pohatu."

"You must hurry," said Turaga Cothan, "Every hour wasted only hastens the Visorak's victory, and there is no known cure for Visorak venom. If you do not succeed, Huna Nui will become a ghost land, full of monsters only a nightmare could conjure."

* * *

_Bionicle and all related characters (c) LEGO_

_Story and related characters (c) me_

_This is my first chapter story here on . It was my first long story ever written, talking about a year and a half years off and on to finish (from 2006 to 2008). This won't be my best work ever, but I can definitely say I put more effort into this story than any other before or sense._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"I hope nothing catches on fire. That usually happens when I'm in the forest," thought Tahu as he approached the Le-Huna landing pad.

The southern end of Huna Nui was a forest, and full of sounds. None, hoped Tahu, were from Visorak. As the great Entai tree loomed in front of him, he tried to remember where the secret button was. The Entai tree was covered with bumps of all shapes and sizes, one of which was a button which, with all the other bumps around it, was almost impossible to find. Even Lewa, who knew the forest like the back of his mask, had some difficulty finding it. Tahu reached the Entai tree and, after a bit of searching, pressed the hidden button. When he released the button, a panel opened up revealing a keyboard. He entered the word ENTAI, the panel closed, and a door opened up. Tahu stepped into the elevator and pressed the down button. As flute music played in the background, he began to wonder how far the Visorak's conquest had gotten. He sincerely hoped they had not found the villages. When he reached the bottom and stepped out if the elevator, he was in a small hanger full of small airships. Choosing the closest one, he strode in and pressed the big red button in the middle of the dashboard. The word MIRU appeared on a small screen, and, after a bit of deciphering, Tahu punched the matching password into the keyboard as he said to himself, "Boy, the things we do to keep people out of our villages."

The airship took off through the tunnel and soared out over the forest. Its autopilot system steered it on a northwesterly course, toward the floating village of Le-Huna.

As the airship flew on, Tahu thought back over his life. He and the other Toa Mata had been chosen almost 70,000 years ago to be Mata Nui's chosen warriors. The canisters they traveled in were under his control, and he would send them wherever in the universe they were needed most. He had sent them to this island, Huna Nui, over 1000 years ago. At first, none of them could find any villages, and they had wondered if Mata Nui had perhaps made a mistake. But then, several Matoran found the Toa and took them to their respective villages, which were hidden from the outside world. This was the reason the island was called Huna Nui; its villages were essentially invisible and could only be reached by a series of codes and hidden switches. Suddenly, Tahu's reminisces jolted to a halt as the airship landed in the floating village of Le-Huna.

Le-Huna was always in motion. Innumerable levitation disks kept the city afloat, and machines around the edge created a mist that made it look like a cloud. Its buildings soared into the sky, looking a bit like the forest below, gracefully chaotic.

Tahu exited the ship and went in search of Lewa. Lewa had been given the highest apartment in the city, a suite at the top of the tallest building. While it was great for the Toa of Air, it was somewhat of a hassle to get there. Tahu entered the green paneled building, briefly acknowledging the attendant in the lobby, and took the elevator to the top floor. Upon reaching the top, Tahu turned down the hall toward Lewa's suite.

"Lewa!" he called, as he opened the double doors. No answer. Tahu checked the lounge, bedroom, trophy room, and supply room, but Lewa was nowhere to be found.

As Tahu exited the building, deep in his thoughts, he almost tripped over Turaga Hezalu.

"Oh, Turaga," he exclaimed. "I'm sorry. I'm looking for Lewa, but he's not in his apartment. Do you know where he is?"

"No Toa-hero, I don't," said the Turaga. "I saw him leave about a half hour ago for a thrill-joy ride over the forest. Why do you need him?"

* * *

As he touched down at the edge of the forest and turned to wave to Turaga Hezalu, Tahu breathed a sigh of relief. "I hope…I never…have to do that…again," he said, breathing heavily.

After Tahu told the Turaga what had happened, Hezalu had offered to let Lewa know about the meeting when he returned, and then, suggested that he lower Tahu to the ground using his Mask of Telekinesis. Tahu, knowing time was precious, had reluctantly agreed. Now, he turned towards Po-Huna and began walking.

As he walked, his mind was again drawn to the past. Shortly after the Toa arrived on Huna Nui, the island had been invaded by an army of amphibious beings called Aquaton. Several weeks after the Aquaton's initial attack, the Toa Mata had to call for aid, as there were simply too many enemies to fight. Two weeks later, a boat full of Toa lead by a Makuta named Antroz arrived on the southern shore of the island. This turned the tide of the battle, but it was not enough to drive the Aquaton away. Only when one of them betrayed key information to the Toa were the Aquaton finally driven off the island. Knowing that he had had the honor of fighting alongside a Makuta always made Tahu feel good, but he hoped that the current threat could be handled much more succinctly.

After a good deal of traveling, a disturbance in the distance caught his eye. When he got closer, he saw it was a squad of Visorak putting the wraps on a Muaka.

"Hey!" he shouted, brandishing his fire sword, "get back!"

The Visorak turned toward him. Seeing more potential prey, they fired their spinners. Tahu triggered his mask power and blocked them. Summoning a ball of fire, he hurled it at the nearest Visorak. As it danced about, hissing in pain, Tahu threw himself into the fray, slicing with his sword and hurling great balls of fire. Within moments, the Visorak were either dead or scurrying away with some debilitating injury. He heard a noise behind him and saw a green Visorak fire its spinner. Tahu dove out of the way, the spinner barely missing his shoulder, and landed on his back. A loud crack filled the air, and Tahu looked up to see a rock slide burying the swarm. As he got up, he noticed where the rocks had broken.

"That Visorak's Rhotuka ate the rock away," said Tahu, looking at the rubble. "I wish Lewa had been here to see this." 

"I was, Toa-brother," said a voice behind him. 

"Lewa, good to . . ." He got no further. Within moments, he was wrapped inside a Visorak cocoon. 

"I'm sorry I was late, Tahu," said the Oohnorak in the voice of Lewa, venom dripping form its jaws, "but I'm sure we can still have a little fun."

* * *

As Kopaka jumped off his ice slide, he thought to himself, "While I would never tell the others this, I find ice boarding quite exhilerating." 

Kopaka was standing in a bowl-shaped valley surrounded by the mouths of scores of caves. In front of him was a large stone pillar. The pillar was covered with random symbols and looked like some relic from a past age, but Kopaka knew differently. Pressing several symbols in a precise sequence caused the random scratchings to rearrange themselves into the symbol of the cave that led to Onu-Huna. This was necessary, he remembered, because the entrance to the village changed. The caves around and beneath the valley shifted every few hours. Special machines designed by the Matoran moved the walls and floors of the caves in random sequences, so that the tunnel to the village was never the same. 

When he arrived at Onu-Huna, he found it as busy as ever with Matoran scurrying to and fro between their homes and their workplaces. The buildings of Onu-Huna were built almost entirely into the walls, as well as the huge stalagmites that dotted the floor of the Great Cavern. The few buildings that were scattered on the floor of the cave were generally for public usage. Cobblestone streets crisscrossed the floor, and giant lightstones dangled from the many stalactites that hung from the ceiling. Kopaka activated his mask and scanned the village, looking for the Toa of Earth, but he was nowhere in sight. 

"Oh well," thought Kopaka, "I might as well find Turaga Kalac. Maybe he knows where Onua is hiding." 

He found the Turaga in his hut which was one of the few on the cavern floor. He was talking to several Matoran. 

"I know evacuating the mine was a little extreme, but we don't know if there are any others, or if they're aggressive," said one of the Matoran. 

"Perhaps you're right, Jenis," said Kalac, "Let's go back there and I can examine it. You know I'm an expert on Rahi." 

"Alright, Turaga. But don't --- Oh, Toa Kopaka," said Jenis as they all turned and bowed. 

"Well, this is a pleasent surprise, Toa. What brings you to Onu-Huna?" asked the Turaga. 

"Tahu has called a meeting and has sent me to get Onua." replied the Toa of Ice. 

"Well then, you might as well come with us," quipped another Matoran named Bursi. "Onua's in the mine where we were working." 

"Very well," said Kopaka.

* * * 

"I know it was here, Turaga. I swear!"  Kopaka, Onua, Kalac, Jenis, Bursi, and another Matoran named Orvik were all standing at the place where, according to Jenis, he had seen an unknown Rahi. But as they looked around, they saw nothing even resembling a Rahi. 

"It was lying on its back right here," exclaimed Jenis. "It was unconscious, so it couldn't have just walked away. We were only gone ten minutes." 

"What did it look like?" asked Onua. 

"Now, why didn't I tell anybody before?" said Jenis. "It was white and spider-like with huge pincers. It was the pincers that made me --- Why Turaga, what's wrong?" 

Everyone looked at Kalac and saw that his knees were shaking. 

"Matoran," he said, a little shakily, "go back to the village and call everyone to the town square. I'll be along in a minute. Toa," he said after the Matoran had left, "whatever your meeting was about, this Rahi is a much greater danger. It's a ---" 

"Visorak," finished Kopaka. "Don't worry, Turaga. We are aware of the situation, and they are the topic of our meeting. Now, we have to go. I will explain the situation to Onua on the way to Ga-Huna." 

"Who's there?" Onua turned and brandished his claws.

"What is it, Onua?" asked Kopaka.

"I heard a noise down the tunnel."

Kalac moved his lightstone in the direction Onua was pointing. "Orvik," said the Turaga as the Matoran stepped out from behind a rock, "I thought I told you to go back to the village." 

"I'm sorry, Turaga." replied the Matoran meekly. "I was just curious and I was wondering. Could you Toa take something to my...my friend, Lavira, in Ga-Huna." He produced a package from behind his back. On it was written, "To Lavira. With love: Orvik" 

Onua grinned from ear to ear, and, behind his mask, Kopaka's eyes twinkled. 

"Certainly little friend," said Onua. "What's in ---" 

"Toa!" came a cry from down the tunnel. 

"Bursi, what's wrong?" asked Kalac. 

"The village is under attack!"

* * *

_Bionicle and related characters (c) LEGO_

_Story and related characters (c) me_

_Ooh, more suspence._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As the Oohnorak advanced toward him, Toa Tahu tried to free himself. His mask was no use, and the webbing was too strong to break. He tried melting it, but it seemed to be fire resistant as well. He closed his eyes and prepared for the worst. He waited and waited, but all he felt was the breeze on his face.

"Wait a minute," he thought. "There was no breeze a second ago."

"Need a hand, brother?" said a voice. Tahu opened his eyes and saw a green Miru staring back at him.

"Lewa!" he exclaimed, "it is you this time!"

"What do you mean 'this time'?" Lewa asked. "I'm the only green Toa-hero around, aren't I?"

"Get me out of this blasted web, and I'll tell you!"

* * *

"Well," said Lewa, "good thing I heard the shout-loud and blew that thing away, or you would have been Visorak-bones." After Lewa freed Tahu and the Muaka, the Toa had headed off to Po-Huna. As they travelled, Tahu filled him in on everything that had happened so far.

"They haven't made to the forest yet. They're probably too scared of a great Toa-hero like me to go there."

"Don't get cocky, my friend. These things are deadly," replied Tahu. "But then, asking you to not be cocky is like a asking the volcano to not be hot."

"Well whatever. Oh look, there's the ravine."

Tahu looked where Lewa was pointing and saw that he was right. The area around Po-Huna was dry, but not quite desert, and mostly a plateau riddled with deep ravines. Lewa and Tahu entered one of them, walked about thirty paces, and pushed on the wall on their left. A secret door opened, revealing a tunnel that led to Po-Huna. Lewa closed the door behind them, and they ventured up the long, winding path deep inside the rock. At the top of the path, there was a large door with a padlock fixed into the wall. Lewa scrolled it to the appropriate number, and the door swung open. With that, they stepped out and were standing on a ledge halfway up another ravine; on the other side was another tunnel.

As Lewa levitated across, Tahu remembered the first time he had had to use the invisible bridge. When they had defeated the invading army of Aquaton and gotten rid of Amphibax, they had taken a tour of the island. When they had reached this spot and Pohatu had explained about the invisible bridge, Tahu could not bring himself to take the step of faith and had to admit to the others that he was afraid of heights. Ever since then, he had been touchy about any mention of his fear.

"Well, aren't you coming?" Lewa shouted from the other side.

"Sorry, Lewa. I was, uh, just thinking. Maybe you should get Pohatu, and I'll stay here as a rear guard."

"There's no need for that, but I can turn off the invisibility disks if you like," said a voice from above.

"Pohatu," exclaimed Lewa as the Toa of Stone leaped onto the ledge beside him, "you're just the Toa-hero we're looking for. Tahu's called a counsil-meeting of the Toa-heroes, but he's too scared-frightened to cross the bridge."

"Oh. Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a shame," replied Pohatu, loud enough for Tahu to hear.

As their laughter filled the ravine, Tahu began to boil. "No one calls me a coward," he fumed.

"You're going to be Rahi-bones for that!" he screamed as he ran headlong toward the bridge. So enraged was he that he did not realize that he missed the bridge. As Tahu fell headlong to his doom, he thought, "Oh Karzahni!"

* * *

"Onua, duck!" yelled Kopaka.

Onua dove out of the way just as Kopaka's shield flew through the place his head had been and collided with a Boggarak. Since they had arrived in Onu-Huna, the Toa and the Matoran defenders had taken down a good number of the Visorak, but there were still dozens left. Onua landed next to Turaga Kalac who was hiding behind a boulder.

"Turaga," said Onua, "I have a plan, but I need your Mask of Speed."

"Whatever you need, Toa," replied the Turaga, as he exchanged masks with the Toa.

Putting it on, Onua shot across the cavern to Kopaka and threw the two Visorak he was fending off though the nearest wall.

"Kopaka," he said, "I've got a plan." He whispered something to Kopaka, "Then meet me in the supply cave." The ice Toa nodded in agreement.

For the next few seconds, Onua was everywhere at once, picking up Matoran, rushing them out the various exits in the cavern wall, and knocking the occasional Visorak into oblivion. Within fifteen seconds, the cave was empty of Matoran. Kopaka's cold eyes met the Visorak's venomous glares, and then, Kopaka chuckled.

A mini-nova blast of ice energy erupted from him like a volcano. The Visorak tried to flee before its frosty fury, but were frozen dead in their tracks. Within moments, the cavern and everything in it were covered in several inches of crystalline ice. Kopaka surveyed his handiwork and headed out the entrance that led to the surface, knowing that by "supply cave" Onua meant a particular rock formation a few kio away.

During their war with the Aquaton, the Toa had made a code known only by themselves. It would only be used when they needed to meet somewhere and they were among enemies. Each region had two designated meeting places. When Onua said supply cave, he meant a rock formation in the middle of the nearby plain that resembled a Muaka, known, obviously, as Muaka Rock.

* * *

"I'm glad for our powers," said Onua as he stepped off Kopaka's ice bridge. "I'd hate to have to find my way through the marsh every time I had to come here." Onua and Kopaka were standing on the final piece of firm ground in the Ga-Huna marshes. In front of them was the ocean, lapping at their feet; behind them, the stagnant swamp stretched into the distance. The marshes occupied the north-eastern corner of Huna Nui. While they were not very good deterrents against air-based enemies, they were very effective at keeping land based ones out of the water village.

"So am I," replied Kopaka.

"I heard that they're remaking the security system so as to completely avoid the swamp."

"Well, we're stuck with this one for now."

Kopaka reached up and grabbed a branch on the tree next to him. Accompanied by the muffled sound of clanking gears, a pier rose, piece by piece, out of the water, and on the end was a pedestal with a keypad on top. Kopaka walked to the keypad and typed in Kualsi, the Kanohi of Turaga Nerah from Ga-Huna. The water beside the platform began to bubble, and out of the murky depths, a small spherical pod rose.

"Kopaka," Onua called from shore, "uh, maybe I should stay here and..."

"No, you're coming with me, Onua."

"But what if..."

"Onua, we've been over this a thousand times. I don't care how afraid of the drowning you are, the glass is not going to break. Now for Mata Nui's sake, get in there before I do something I'll regret."

Reluctantly, Onua lowered himself into the sub pod and strapped himself in. Kopaka jumped down beside him, fastened his harness, and pressed the big red button with the word "Dive" on it. As the hatch closed and the pod sank beneath the waves, Onua covered his eyes and groaned, "Tell me when it's over."

Giving Onua a slightly disgusted look, the Toa of Ice steered the pod toward the underwater caves that yawned from a rocky outcropping a few kio away.

The sight of water reminded Onua of his fear of drowing; for Kopaka, it was a source of heartbreak. Every time he saw it, he was reminded of the one being who had been able to thaw his icy heart, a Toa of Water named Atuuh. During the Aquaton war, Kopaka had been made general over a group of Toa, one of whom was Atuuh. Over the course of the war, the two of them had gotten very close, so much so that Kopaka had contemplated leaving Huna-Nui with her when the war ended. However, the other Toa Mata persuaded him to stay, so Kopaka and Atuuh had kept up a long distance relationship. They would write to each other and visit from time to time. And then, she stopped answering his letters. The Matoran merchants who delivered the messages told him that her island had been quarantined. Kopaka could only hope for the best, but he suspected the worst. Now, the ocean that she had always loved reminded him of the lady he had lost.

Kopaka was able to concentrate on steering in time to direct the pod into the cave that led to Ga-Huna. These caves did not shift like the Onu-Huna caves; however, the many branches and dead-end tunnels made guesswork virtually impossible. The twists and turns also made steering somewhat difficult, but Kopaka had gone through there often enough that he knew exactly what to do. After five minutes of sharp turns, sudden drops, and Onua's muffled wails, the sub pod came to a blank wall. Kopaka reached up on the dashboard and pressed some seemingly random buttons, and a wall dropped behind them. He then pressed the same buttons in reverse order and the wall in front of the pod opened up revealing the bottom of a large harbor. He steered the pod to the surface and docked the pod to one of the many piers jutting into the Ga-Huna harbor.

Ga-Huna was inside a sea cave which was completely underwater; however, a series of pipes, which reached to the surface, provided fresh air to the cave. The entrance to the harbor was blocked by a pressure lock, which kept the ocean from flooding the chamber. The buildings were all various sizes, but were roughly the same shape, a low dome. They were built of off-white stone taken from the cave's wall, and when their doors were locked, they were airtight. This was part of the village's security system. If a group of enemies too powerful to handle were to enter the village, a switch could be thrown which would open the pressure lock and flood the cave.

After securing the pod to the pier, Kopaka went in search of Gali, and a very much relieved Onua went off to find Lavira and deliver the package from Orvik. Kopaka found Gali in the library, one of the village's larger buildings, pouring over piles of tablets. A light suddenly flashed in front of the the Toa of Ice who yelped and jumped a foot in the air.

"Hello Toa," Turaga Nerah smirked behind her Kualsi, "Getting a little exercise, are we?"

"Ah, no," replied Kopaka regaining his composure, "I've come for Gali. Tahu has called a meeting. We have a new threat on Huna Nui, Visorak."

"Yes. Some other Ga-Matoran saw their scouts land this morning," said the Turaga, "Gali and I have been trying to find anything in the library that could help us, but we have found nothing that I did not already know. No doubt Turaga Cothan has told you about them already."

"Yes, he has, as well as Kalac," answered Kopaka, "but we must be going."

After explaining everything to Gali and finding Onua, the three Toa headed to the sub pod. Once again, Onua needed a little "encouragement" to get in.

After leaving the cave system and heading out into open water, Gali had a suggestion.

"Brothers," she said, "perhaps we should use the new docks at the edge of the swamps. They were finished just last week."

"I think that to save time," replied Kopaka, "we will just take the river to Kini Kanto."

As the Toa pressed on in their journey, they did not notice part of the cliff wall detach and follow them. After a few seconds, it changed from the grey of the wall to its normal black. The Kortano, the camouflage squid, was hungry and this strange-looking fish looked as good to eat as anything it had seen that day.

* * *

_Bionicle and related characters (c) LEGO  
_

_Huna Nui and related characters (c) me_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

As Tahu's screams of terror filled the canyon, Pohatu could only stare in disbelief as Tahu fell to his doom. How could he get so mad over one little joke? He suddenly felt his feet leave the ground; he looked behind him and saw Lewa holding him up using his mask power.

"What are you doing?" Pohatu asked.

"Remember that move we did-pulled on the Aquaton on that Water Toa, uh, Tuyet?"

"Right, so we'll combine our mask powers, swoop down, and catch him."

With that, they shot down along the canyon wall. Tahu looked over and saw a green and brown blur shoot by him. The sight cleared his terror stricken mind just enough to grasp the situation. He began to heat the air underneath himself, and so, he slowed himself down enough that he landed comfortably in Pohatu's arms who was held up by Lewa and his Kanohi Miru.

"Thanks guys," said Tahu.

"No problem, Toa-brother," replied Lewa, "Tell you what, from now on, we'll only make fun of you when we know you won't trip-fall to your death."

All three laughed as they touched down on the canyon bottom.

"Well anyway," said Pohatu, "what's our meeting going to be about?"

"Visorak," replied Tahu, "giant spiders that fire wheels of energy from their backs."

"Wait, spider-like? I think I fought some just this morning."

As the Toa of Fire, Air, and Stone headed for Kini Kanto, the great temple in Huna Nui's center, Pohatu related his adventure with a squad of Visorak.  
"Every morning, I like to go up onto the ridge above Po-Huna and watch the sun rise. This morning, after the sun had risen, I was heading back to the village when I saw a group of Rahi at the bottom of a nearby gorge. I got a little closer and saw it was a bunch of spider-like creatures (I'm assuming they were Visorak) surrounding an injured Gukko. They were apparently trying to wrap it up in webbing, but it was putting up quite a fight. Realizing that they were trying to capture it, I --- do you remember that move I pulled during the Aquaton war on Gali?"

"You mean the one where you pulled her through the stone floor and out of the fortress?" inquired Tahu.

"Exactly, I opened up a hole under the Gukko, formed a stone bubble around it, and pulled it through the stone up onto the ledge I was standing on. I then jumped to a lower ledge to get a closer look. Apparently, one of the Visorak saw me because it fired an energy wheel at the ledge I was on and it melted under my feet. When I hit the ground, I, uh, ahem, pretended to be knocked out ---"

"Uh huh, sure, stone-brother, we believe you."

"Okay fine. I woke up in a cocoon. One of the Visorak was about to bite me, but I sent it flying into the pack of others on the side. Then using my stone powers, I pulled the cocoon apart. Then I made the canyon walls collapse on them and 'stone bubbled' myself to the top of the canyon. Then I took the Gukko to --- drat, I forgot to tell Turaga Tucari where I'm going. Keep going, I'll catch up."

As Pohatu zoomed off, Lewa and Tahu walked on, each with his own thoughts. After about a minute, Tahu wondered what was taking Pohatu so long.

"Ha," Lewa responded, "Pohatu is the only person-being I know that a minute is a long time to wait for him."

"Brothers," called Pohatu as he ground to a halt next to them, "you won't believe this. On my way back, I passed the canyon I fought the Visorak in, and they were gone."

"Pohatu, be serious," replied Tahu, "They couldn't just walk away. They only had a few tons of rock on top of them," he added, sarcastically.

"Tahu, I'm not joking. I even went down to look at it, and all that was left of the rock pile was a bunch of dust and sludge."

"If these Rahi-creatures could get out of one of your rock piles, they're a worse threat than we thought," said Lewa. "We'd better head to Kini Kanto as quick-fast as we can. Let's go."

* * *

"Guys, I hate to admit it, but we're lost."

Tahu, Pohatu, and Lewa were standing at the base of a gigantic cliff at the base of Mt. Kuras. Assuming that Pohatu knew his home terrain well enough, he had been entrusted with getting the Toa to the Great Staircase, a tunnel full of stairs that led Ko-Koro and Kini Kanto, but apparently, he did not.

"I'm sorry, guys," he said, "I don't normally have very many reasons to use the Great Staircase. Hang on, let me try something."

He placed his hand against the stone wall for a few moments.

"Well, I sensed through the stone and the Great Staircase is about twenty kio south of here, but right over here," he said, taking a few paces along the cliff, "there's a tunnel."

"A tunnel?" Tahu responded.

"Yes." Pohatu stomped a hole in the ground and fell through. By the time the others had gotten down there, he had an excited look on his face.

"Brothers, you won't believe this. I sensed through the rock again, and a branch of this tunnel goes right under Kini Kanto!"

"You're joke-kidding," Lewa said.

"Well if that's the case, then let's get going," said Tahu.

As they sprinted off using Tahu's flames to see ahead, a small creature emerged behind them in the light of Pohatu's hole.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Look what they've done to the tunnel. Oh well, I guess I'll have to fix it."

All of a sudden, the rubble under the hole began to meld and morph until it became a perfect plug for the opening. It floated up and fitted itself into the hole in the ceiling. Within moments, the roof was repaired.

"Let's see where these three are going. There's no chance of loosing them. A blind Gukko could track those three."

As he walked down the tunnel in almost total silence, the creature called Ziran pondered the future. He knew what the Toa were doing, and he knew that they were going to fail. Then he thought, "I should help them. After all, they will need all the help they can get."

* * *

"Hurry, Kopaka," Gali said anxiously, "it's gaining on us."

"I know," he replied grinding his teeth, "I'm going as fast as I can."

"Just tell me when it's over," said a voice from the floor.

The three Toa sat in their pod as it careened down the coast pursued by a giant camouflage squid called a Kortano. They had first known its presence when a giant tentacle wrapped around the sub. A combination of Gali's water powers and Kopaka's advanced maneuvering abilities had freed them, but the Kortano quickly resumed pursuit and was gaining on them fast.

Rounding another corner, Kopaka could see the mouth of the river they were heading for. So intense on escape was he that he did not notice the twenty-some tentacles snaking up the sides of the pod. All Gali could do was gaze in horror, breathing a silent wish that they could somehow escape. All of a sudden, the tentacles pulled back. Gali looked behind the pod and saw the Kortano, writhing in pain.

"I wonder what happened," she thought.

As the sub hit the surface and sped upriver, a Vohtarak turned and walked away. It pondered what it had just done: save a creature rather than hunt it. It sincerely hoped it never had the "pleasure" of doing that again.

* * *

"Well, here we are, Kini Kanto," said Gali as Kopaka stopped the sub and dropped anchor. The Toa climbed out onto the bank and looked up. Pouring into the lake beside them was an enormous waterfall. Falling over 20 bio from the mountain above, it was an incredible sight.

The Toa stepped behind the waterfall and entered a tunnel which ran straight for about a kio and then entered a large room. Around the walls of the room at regular intervals, five other tunnels entered the room, each having the symbol of one of the island's six Matoran tribes above it. In the center of the room was a spiral staircase leading up to the temple.

As the Toa entered the chamber, they grew silent in reverence of this sacred place. They climbed the stairs, each with his own thoughts, and emerged into the temple of Kini Kanto.

Kini Kanto was built on top of Huna Nui's central-most mountain, Mt. Kanto. The mountain and temple both bore the Matoran word for half, because the mountain looked as if it had been cut in half by some giant blade. At the base of the cliffside, where the Toa had left their sub pod, was Lake Kanto. The top of the mountain had been carved away, leaving two pillars that followed the curve of the mountain and a flat area in front of it. Between the pillars was a shrine, dedicated to Mata Nui, and in the center of the flat area was a large Amaja Circle. Pilgrims from all over the island would often come there to pay homage to the Great Spirit. The Toa and Turaga also used this as a meeting place, since is was centrally located and easy to access.

Kopaka gazed about, as amazed as ever that the Matoran he served and protected could have created such an architectural masterpiece. Gali strode to the northern edge and gazed upon the glistening marshes of Ga-Wahi and the stony plains of Onu-Wahi, awestruck at the beauty before her. Onua approached the western edge and looked down the side of the mountain, wondering what could possibly be causing the trembling he felt in the ground.

The side of the mountain exploded in a cloud of dust and debris. Kopaka and Gali rushed to Onua's side ready to fight whatever threat would pop out of the dust cloud. As the dust settled, they saw three figures approaching them; they were not Visorak as the Toa had feared, but Tahu, Lewa, and Pohatu.

"Brothers!" cried Onua as the three figures approached.

Many hearty embraces and clacking of fists were exchanged before Tahu said, "Everyone, I've had quite an eventful morning, and I'm sure you all have, too. So let's get started."

* * *

"And we followed the tunnel and ended up here," said Pohatu, finishing the meeting's taletelling.

"Well," replied Gali, "we have had quite a morning."

"Yes, but one thing puzzles me, Gali," said Tahu. "You said the Kortano almost had you and then pulled back. Do you have any idea why?"

"I know the answer."

"What's that, Onua?" asked Pohatu.

"That wasn't me," replied the Toa of Earth, "that was --- uh, oh."

As the Toa looked down the mountain, their eyes grew wide. The mountainside was swarming with dozens of Visorak, and standing on the ledge was a black one, speaking in the voice of Toa Onua.

"The squid pulled back because it was my master's desire that you meet here," said the ebony creature. "And now that you have finished your meeting, it's time for the hunt!"

The creature jumped back into the crowd, as the mountain began to glow with Rhotuka spinners. The Toa began to summon their energies, knowing full well that they would never be able to win this fight.

As quickly as the battle started, it ended even quicker. The Visorak's Rhotuka stopped spinning as their energy dissipated. The creatures just stood in place, a dazed look in their eyes. The Toa looked at each other in bewilderment. Finally, Tahu got up the nerve to approach the horde. He waved his hand in front of one, but got no response.

"Either we're the object of some giant joke," he remarked, "or something very strange is going on here."

"I say we go back to our villages and discuss this with our Turaga," said Gali. "Then meet back here at noon."

As the Toa went their separate ways, a small, invisible creature looked down on the mountainside. Thanks to his mind control powers, he had been able to keep the Toa out of harm's way. Now that they were separate, he would have to pick one to follow.

"I should probably follow Lewa," thought Ziran, "The others are cautious enough, but him...Well, let's take care of these creatures first." With that, he used his telekinesis to lift the entire Visorak squad off the mountain and drop them in Lake Kanto. He knew most of them would probably survive, but at least they would be out of the way for the time being.

Then, Ziran took off after the Toa of Air. With any luck, the Toa would not detect his presence. But if worst came to worst, well...

"Here's hoping," he thought as he flew over the forest.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

As Lewa glided over the southern forest, he let his mind wander. He slipped back into some of his fondest memories: Matoran festivals, pranks pulled throughout the years, battle with Rahi and Aquaton. As his mind roamed through the corridors of the past, he paused to recollect on one particular being, a Toa of Sonics named Narthex. The two of them had first met during the Aquaton war. Lewa remembered the day of their meeting very vividly.

After a particularly brutal battle with the Aquaton, Lewa had found Narthex huddled up in a corner, tears dripping down his face.

"Hey," said Lewa, as he knelt by the sobbing figure, "what's wrong?"

"It's...it's nothing," sniffed the other Toa.

"Oh come on," replied Lewa, "no one sob-cries for nothing."

"It's just...this is my first big battle," said Narthex. "I've never fought anything more than a couple Skakdi."

With that, Narthex told about his past. He was from an island just west of Zakaz and had only been a Toa for about six months. Because of this, he did not have a very good control over his powers. Lewa then decided to take the novice Toa under his wing. He remembered one day in particular when he was teaching Narthex some channeling techniques.

"Remember," said Lewa, as Narthex pointed his sword at a rock, "there is no right-true way to channel your power. Just do whatever you think-feels right."

He concentrated on making it powerful, but it went everywhere. Then, he concentrated on accuracy, but all that came out was a squeak. Again he tried, and again, and again. Finally, he threw down my sword and screamed in disgust with himself. To his surprise, the rock in front of me shattered into dust. He turned to Lewa, who was covering his ears, grimacing in pain.

"Well," said the Air Toa, trying to pop his ears, "lesson over-done."

After that, Narthex went on to be a powerful Toa, and his distinct power screams made him well known among the Toa's ranks.

A sudden gust of wind caused Lewa to stop reminiscing and start focussing on the task at hand: flying. By the time he regained control, he had lost a good deal of altitude. And for the first time, he noticed a green mist rising from the forest beneath him.

"Oh no," he thought as he swooped down into a clearing.

As soon as he landed, he sprinted into the forest and stopped dead in his tracks. Webs and cocoons spanned between the ancient trees. As he looked around, a sudden panic came over him. Had the Visorak found the Entai tree? Or worse, had they found the village?

He began to run, faster and faster. In his panic stricken mind, all that mattered was getting to the village. So bent on his task was he, that he never noticed the rustling in the bushes. Too late, he saw something fly out of the brush. He fell forward into the dirt, paralyzed by a Visorak's spinner.

* * *

"I wish they would quick-get this over with," said Lewa, as he dangled from a branch high in the treetops.

"Oh we will," said a nearby Oohnorak in the voice of Toa Tahu, "just as soon as the master gets here."

"And here he is," said a voice from above.

A tall crimson figure came into view. As the red creature swooping in atop a large flying Rahi, Lewa knew this must be the Visorak's commander.

"Yes," said the scarlet being, "this one will do nicely in my collection."

"Collection?" cried Lewa, "What kind of crazy-mad creature-being are you?"

"Consider yourself lucky, Toa," replied the commander, "not every Toa is worthy of Sidorak's trophy room." With that, he turned to his minions and said, "Commence with mutation and disposal."

As excited chattering filled the treetops, a green Visorak advanced on the Toa of Air. Having already exhausted himself trying to get free, all Lewa could do was shut his eyes and wait. As the Keelehrak's pincers pierced the tough webbing and injected venom into his body, Lewa screamed in pain. Knowing the outcome did not change the pain of his body being twisted, warped, and deformed. Nor did it change the agony of his mind being turned into a primitive, brutish form of its prior self.

After what seemed like an eternity, the mutation was complete, and Lewa's body was too heavy for the cocoon. As the webbing began to snap, Sidorak smiled upon his latest creation.

"Don't worry, Toa," he said, "You're not going to die. But I can guarantee you, you'll wish you had."

The last strand broke and Lewa plummeted toward the earth. The Visorak had picked their disposal point well, for there was nothing to break his fall. As anger and grief battled within him, he looked around at the last things he would ever see: the trees rushing past him, the fog closing in overhead, the ground opening up beneath him.

"What in Mata Nui's name?" he thought.

With nothing to stop him, he plunged into the newly opened hole. He closed his eyes and waited for impact, but it never came. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw the ground about two inches from his face. He could feel some force holding him up, but could see nothing that could be causing it. Looking up, he saw the hole he had just fallen through closing up.

Then, suddenly, he was lying down on a cot staring up at a stone ceiling. Bolting upright, he saw a small, white creature standing next to his cot.

"Come with me, Lewa Hordika," said the creature, "My name is Ziran, and your friends are waiting for you."

* * *

_Bionicle and related characters (c) LEGO_

_Huna Nui and related characters (c) me_

_Yeah, I know, short chapter, but it made more sense to stop here._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Lewa Hordika followed Ziran into another room of the cave that Ziran apparently called home. The room they entered was sparsely furnished with a few wooden shelves and benches lining the walls and a stone table in the center of the room with a few stools around it. Around the room sat the other Toa. As Lewa entered the room, some of the other Toa jumped up and drew their weapons. Then, realizing that the monster before them was Lewa, a look of grief, shock, and disgust came over their faces. The Air Toa could not blame them. Where once there had been a powerful, muscular body, there was now a twisted brutish form. The face that had once been quite handsome had now been twisted and misshapen until it made a Visorak look good.

"Toa," said Ziran, "here is your brother."

"Hello, Lewa," said Gali, chocking back a sob.

"Listen," implored Ziran, "I can help you fix this. Visorak venom is not incurable." Using his telekinesis, he pulled a small tablet off a nearby shelf. "Gali," he said, handing her the tablet, "you have some skill as a healer. Tell me if this makes since to you."

The Toa of Water wiped a tear from her eye, before briefly scanned the tablet. "This makes sense. It's a mask made from a "remove poison" disk, but has been altered to counter this particular poison. I say we give this a shot."

With that, Tahu exploded. "Will you listen to yourselves? This...thing takes over our minds, takes us who knows where, and hands you a tablet that so conveniently has the cure Lewa needs. How do we know he's not working for the Visorak? What if this is a trap to get us out of the way?"

Ziran looked at Tahu and simply said, "Tahu, calm down, please."

A strange look came over Tahu's face. "Calm down," he said, "Of course."

"Thank you," replied the small creature, "so you think I'm working for Sidorak, the Visorak's leader. Well, think about it. If I can take over your minds as easily as I can, don't you think I could kill you just as easily? But I don't want to kill you. I want to help you. Listen, if we let Lewa stay in his current state for long enough, he will eventually become like a Rahi, acting solely on instinct with no more intelligence than a Tarakava."

"And how do you know this?" asked Kopaka, somewhat skeptical of the strange creature.

"Because my best friend was mutated by this same legion. His name was Rycom. Fortunately, this," Ziran held up the tablet like it was some sacred object, "was able to cure him and many others of my race, but not before they were reduced to mindless husks that gave me many a nightmare. I know that you are the Great Spirit's chosen warriors" he said, lowering his voice, "and I don't want that to happen to you. So, will you give me a chance?"

"I still think this is some sort of trap," said Tahu, obstinately.

"I say we vote," responded Onua. "All those in favor?" The Toa of Earth raised his hand, as did Lewa, Pohatu, and Gali.

Seeing that he and Kopaka were outnumbered, Tahu rolled his eyes and said, "Alright, we'll go along with this little scheme, but if I sense anything funny---"

"Thank you, Tahu," said Ziran, "that's enough."

"That's enough." said Tahu, with the same strange look he had before, "Of course."

After being given their individual assignments, the Toa filed out of the cave. As they left, a pair of eyes peered out of the shadows in the back of the cave. Ziran reached out with his mind to telepathically contact the hidden being. After a brief mental conversation, Ziran turned and left the cave.

As the sounds of the Toa's footsteps receded, the being in the shadows stepped out and changed from the dull brown of the cave wall into its normal black and silver.

"I can send some others to watch them," thought Torbran, "but I should probably follow Onua. His mission could prove particularly troublesome."

* * *

"And you'll also need this," said Ziran, giving Lewa Hordika his staff . "It's basically a Kanohi mask that's been reshapen, so it works pretty much the same. It's a Volitak, so it can make you ghostly."

"What?" exclaimed Lewa, "You have telekinesis, mind control, detection, quick-soaring, and now you say-tell me that you can go invisible? Do you have any other abilities?"

"Nope, that's about it," replied Ziran, "Well, I have to go help Onua. Now get a move on!" With that, he telekinetically hurled the Air Toa out over the ocean.

"And I thought I was the only joker-clown around here," thought Lewa, as he fired a spinner and snagged it with his Hordika tool.

Earlier, Ziran had given Lewa a crash course in Rhotuka flight, so that the Hordika could reach the Visorak's floating base. The Toa sincerely hoped that the small creature had not forgotten to tell him anything important.

After a few minutes, Sidorak's base loomed large in front of him. It was shaped like a large battleship with a large tower near the rear. Guards patrolled the deck and crawled over the tower, their chittering filling the air. As he neared the ship, he activated Ziran's staff of stealth and swooped in for a landing. Releasing his spinner, he dropped onto the deck.

He looked around, making sure that no one had noticed him, and then, he began to scout out the ship. In the front of the ship, he found a room full of self-powered boats which the Visorak used to get to and from the island. In the ship's rear, he saw the engine room. Most of the ship's hull was one big chamber where the Visorak and their allies lived. Beams and pillars crisscrossed the chamber making it ideal for building webs. On the ship's deck, there was a large arena where organized fights where carried out as a source of entertainment. In the ship's tower, Lewa found supply rooms, the ship's power supply, and the private quarters of Sidorak and his viceroy.

The double doors to Sidorak's chambers loomed in front of him. As Lewa pondered whether to go in, the decision was made for him. A squad of Visorak was coming down the hall, no doubt on patrol. Ziran's staff made him invisible, so they couldn't see him, but that was no guarantee that they wouldn't run into him. He ducked through the doors and found himself in a throne room overlooking the arena. Through a door on his right, he could see what appeared to be a bedchamber. His gaze travelled past the large throne in the center to the door on the left and what he saw made him sick to his stomach.

Lewa ran down the hallway and into the room and stared in shock and horror.. Dozens of Toa Hordika in stasis tubes lined the walls.

"So this is his collection," thought Lewa, trying to keep his anger under control.

He saw Sidorak gloating over them like a set of sports trophies. "Soon, you'll have a new friend, my pretties," he said, dotingly.

Unable to take anymore, the Hordika turned to leave. He was halfway down the hall when the main doors swung open, and a large birdlike creature entered the room.

"Sidorak, are you in here?" it called.

"Ah, Elkana, my faithful viceroy," said the Visorak lord, as he started down the hall. "What news of my latest trophy?"

With the viceroy coming from one direction and Sidorak coming from the other direction, they had effectively trapped the Toa Hordika. Both exits were blocked and using his Rhotuka to fly out would only draw their attention, the last thing he wanted.

"Well," thought Lewa, as fate closed in on him, "looks like I'm going to be an award-trophy after all."

* * *

_Bionicle and related characters (c) LEGO_

_Huna Nui and related characters (c) me_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Tell me again why you brought me?" asked Onua.

Onua and Ziran were standing on the northern shore of Huna Nui at the base of a high cliff.

"Well," said Ziran, "Tahu and Pohatu would be pretty useless on a water-based mission, and all the others were sent on missions that made the most sense to them. Plus, your powers were very useful in extracting that Visorak's venom. And, your claws are perfect for our next objective."

"But," replied the Earth Toa, looking out over the ocean, "I'm afraid of drowning."

"But not of getting your feet wet, right?"

"No."

"Alright, then you'll be fine. When you see a Takea swim into that inlet," he pointed north to a small cove, "just scrape a packful of scales from its hide, not all in one place mind you. You can do that, right?"

"Uh...ya."

"Alright." With that, Ziran dove into the ocean and took off.

Onua strode up the beach toward the inlet, wondering just how successful Ziran would be finding a Takea, much less get it into the shallows.

A few minutes later, Onua saw a telltale dorsal fin heading straight for the inlet. Just in case something went awry, Onua summoned his elemental energies. As the shark got closer, the Earth Toa approached it with caution, but it made no move towards him. In fact, it did not even seem to see him. Then he saw that it had the same strange look on its face that Tahu had in their meeting with Ziran.

"Ziran must be controlling it," he thought as he began to scrape scales from the shark's hide.

"Right you are," said a voice. Onua turned and saw Ziran approaching from ocean.

"Here, let me help you," said the small creature.

After a few minutes, the two of them had gotten a packful of scales from the Takea's hide. The shark, all the while, sat as still as a stone.

"That should do it," said Ziran, closing the pack, "Once I get the shark back out in the ocean, he should probably go — Ahrgh!"

With a cry of pain, Ziran fell face first into the water. Onua turned around just in time to dodge another Rhotuka spinner. A group of a dozen Vohtarok stood on the cliff top, raining spinners down on inlet. Onua dove behind a boulder and turned to check on Ziran. He was not there.

Onua looked around frantically and saw the Takea swimming back out to sea. Realization struck him like a thunderbolt. Ziran had lost his control over the shark. Now it had Ziran and was going to eat him! Moving faster than he ever had in his life, Onua jumped out from behind the boulder and blasted an earthquake at the cliff.

The wall of earth and stone crumbled before him, bring the Visorak down in a cloud of dust and debris. As their screeches of terror echoed off the surrounding cliffs, Onua ran and stopped at the mouth of the inlet. The shark was almost 50 bio from shore, but the Toa could not bring himself to go any further.

Suddenly, the words of Turaga Kalac echoed in his mind, "The elements are all connected, Toa. The three virtues not only apply to Matoran, but to earth, fire, water, and the rest. They can only work in unity, and they all have their duties and destinies."

As odd as the statement had sounded at the time, Onua realized that the Turaga had been referring to a time like this. Just as the Toa of Water was his friend and ally, so was the water she controlled. Steeling his nerves, he took a step forward. Then another. Then another. Within moments, he was sprinting out of the inlet and into the ocean. As the water became deeper, he began to swim. He looked up and saw the dorsal fin begin to sink. With that, he filled his lungs and dove.

* * *

"Look on the bright side, Tahu," said Pohatu, "at least we don't have to go after a Takea."

He and Tahu were standing at the base of a cliff in the middle of Po-Wahi. Having gotten a "remove poison" disk from the stone village, the two of them had gone off to gather Gursa flowers for the Hordika remedy. Unfortunately for Tahu, the flowers only grew on top of the cliffs that surrounded the village.

"Please Pohatu, I'll do anything! Just don't make me climb up there," pleaded the Toa of Fire. "Couldn't you just 'stone bubble' us up there."

"Sorry Tahu, that's not going to work. I'll run out of energy within an hour, and I'll most likely destroy any plants that might be up there." Seeing the despondent look on Tahu's face, Pohatu said, "Tell you what. I can carry you and use my Mask of Speed to run up the cliffs really fast. Would that work?"

"I guess," replied Tahu, "just don't tell the others, please."

"You have my word on it."

Pohatu picked up Tahu and zipped up the cliff. At the top, they found a few dozen flowers. The Gursa plants were about eight inches tall and stood out from the dull brown rock because of their bright red leaves. The two Toa plucked as many leaves as they could off the plants and looked around for more. The next several minutes were spend whizzing between cliff tops and plucking Gursa leaves. Neither of the Toa spoke much; not because they were angry, but because they were both deep in thought. Tahu, who still had his doubts about Ziran, was wondering just how truthful the small creature had been. What if this was all some elaborate scheme to keep them distracted from the real problem? Pohatu could not help but think that this situation was very similar to the day the traitor came. Then and now, the Toa had to depend on the knowledge and integrity of someone they knew virtually nothing about.

Pohatu remembered. He and most of the other Toa were meeting with Makuta Antroz in one of the Toa's many hastily built fortresses that were scattered around the island. They were discussing possible plans of attack on a nearby Aquaton stronghold when the doors to the chamber burst open. An Aquaton was thrown through the door onto his face. Lewa and his friend Narthex entered behind the humiliated creature.

"We found this one sneak-creeping around the fortress," said Lewa.

"He said that he wanted to speak to the Makuta, but he refused to say what about," continued Narthex.

Light snickering drifted from the assembled Toa, but was quickly silenced by a stern glance from Antroz.

"Stand up, Aquaton," said the Makuta, "you are in no danger if you do not threaten anyone. Now, what is your name?"

"My name is of no concern to you," said the gaunt creature, "but you may call me Amphibax."

"I see," replied Antroz, "the Matoran word for renegade."

"I have come here to end this war. I have no more desire to go on fighting than you do, and I have information that can cripple the Aquaton forces. I only ask two things in return. Shelter me until I choose to leave, and kill my ruler."

A somewhat devilish smile came over Amphibax's face as a stunned silence came over the assembled Toa. Just about all of them wanted the war to end, but none of them could even consider killing someone and going against the Toa's code.

Antroz broke the silence, "I know that many of these Toa are reluctant to kill, so if they can capture him, I will personally see to his execution. Now tell us this information."

* * *

"Do you think this enough?" asked Tahu, pointing to his almost full pack.

Pohatu stopped his reminiscing and answered, "I think so. Wait," he pointed across the ravine, "I see a few more plants over there. Let me go grab them."

The Toa of Stone backed up and, activating his Kakama, ran and jumped. He flew in a graceful arc across the ravine and landed with a thud on the other side. As he bent over to gather the leaves, Tahu spotted movement behind the other Toa.

Before he could shout a warning, several patches of scrubby grass changed color and fired several Rhotuka spinners at the Toa of Stone. The dozen or so Roporak then began to tie up Pohatu.

From inside the cocoon, Pohatu tried to summon his stone powers to deal with the Ropoark, but his energies seemed to have deserted him. Then, he remembered the Roporak's Rhotuka power: energy disruption.

On the other side of the ravine, Tahu watched in dismay. He knew he had to help his brother, but his fear had paralyzed him as well.

"Come on you coward," he thought, angry at himself, "Go help your brother." But try as he might, he could not shake his fear. As he watched helplessly as his brother was carried along the ridge, a memory flashed in his mind. He heard Turaga Orli repeating his life motto, "Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is putting fear in its place, knowing when to listen and when to ignore it. Courage is doing what is right in spite of fear, and not letting it overcome you."

Tahu decided it was time to take the Turaga's advice. He took a step toward the cliff. Then another, and another. Within moments, he was running toward the cliff. He reached the edge, and jumped.

* * *

"Once they go around that bend, we break for that pool," said Kopaka.

He and Gali were hiding in a small group of trees on the edge of the Ga-Wahi marsh. The Visorak that had just passed by were chasing a Nui-Jaga. As much as the Toa wanted to help it, they knew it would only put them and their mission at an unnecessary risk. As the last Visorak disappeared around a large outcropping, the Toa dashed for the nearest pool. As they plunged into the warm water, Gali kept the water from splashing so as not to attract attention. The Toa then began to search for Kisana, a type of aquatic plant. According to Ziran, the seeds of these plants were needed for the mask that would purge Lewa of Hordika venom.

The Kisana produced their seeds in a large pod. When the seeds were mature, the pod would detach from the plant and float to the surface. There, the sun would heat the pod until it exploded, sending the seeds in all directions. It was the seed pods and the seeds within them that the Toa were after.

After getting a pack full of seeds, the Toa of Ice and Water headed for dry land. As they climbed out of the marsh and wiped sludge from their armor, Gali stopped and said, "Something's wrong here. I can feel it."

Kopaka activated his Akaku and looked around. "You're right," he said. "There are some Visorak behind that ridge." The words had barely left his mouth when the creatures popped over the ridge and several more emerged from the swamp.

Gali looked around, thinking, "How are we going to get out of this one?"

* * *

_Bionicle and all related characters (c) LEGO_

_Huna Nui and related characters (c) me_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Lewa was going to die. "No wait," he thought, "I'm not going to die. I'm going to be shove-stuffed in a stasis tube and frozen into a trophy for this crazy-mad being."

The Toa weighed his options. He could reveal himself and fight his way out. Or he could try to get past one of the two beings that had unknowingly cornered him. He chose the former.

He deactivated his staff, and before the other two beings could react, he shot a spinner at Elkana, sending the viceroy flying down the hall. Lewa broke into a run. He heard Sidorak firing his Rhotuka behind him. Leaping around like Brakas monkey, he dodged every spinner Sidorak threw at him.

"What a loser-freak!" laughed the Hordika. He broke for the balconey and leapt over the edge when suddenly a bolt of lightning struck him from behind. As his body convulsed from the electric shock, he fell toward the deck below.

"Wow, this looks familiar," he thought as he fell to his doom. As he looked up, he saw a red streak approaching him. It swept beneath him, and he could see that it was Elkana, waiting to catch him.

"Great," thought Lewa, as he landed in the viceroy's arms.

Before Lewa could get over the shock, Elkana filled him with another thousand volts of electricity. As Lewa started to spasm again, Elkana said, "I couldn't let my master's latest trophy kill itself, could I?"

Elkana set Lewa down on the balcony and held the Toa's arms behind his back as Sidorak looked the Hordika over.

"Well, at least I have you now," said Sidorak, as he lead his latest prize into the trophy room. "Look around," said the Visorak lord, "All these Toa were as brave as you. They tried to escape me, but they never made it. Consider yourself lucky, Toa. Most Toa end up as food for my swarms, but these," he motioned to the stasis tubes around him, "showed particular pluck. I keep them here, to remind me of how---"

A sudden roar filled the chamber. A moment later, a green blur shot through the open window and streaked towards the three beings. Sidorak closed his eyes, expecting to feel impact at any moment. When none came, he slowly opened his eyes. In front of him stood Elkana, aghast at the fact that the Toa was no longer in his custody.

Lewa looked back, expecting to see a giant hole in the wall, but there was none. He then looked at his rescuer and saw a teeth filled mouth set in a green reptilian head. Looking the creature over, he realized he had been rescued by a phase dragon. The dragon looked back at the small creature in its claw with an expression that was akin to friendship. Then, the creature gave a soft roar and dove lower toward the island.  
"What's wrong with this carving?" Lewa thought.

* * *

As Tahu fell to his doom, his mind was screaming in several different voices at once.

One said, "You Brakas! Why did you do that?"

Another said, "Pohatu needs you. You have to help him."

A third said, "You're falling to your death. Save yourself."

The ground was approaching quickly. He needed to think fast. Suddenly, he got an idea. He righted himself as he fell, and then did something he had never done before: fire flames from his feet.

At first nothing happened, but then, bit by bit, he slowed his fall. About a bio from the ground, he stopped and began to rise. Rocketing upwards, he shot past the ledge he had jumped from and looked over towards the Visorak squad that had captured his brother.

"Don't worry, Pohatu," he thought, "I'll save you." He swooped down and ran along the ridge, preparing to unleash all his fire power on the Visorak.

Suddenly, he stopped and looked around. A loud buzzing had filled the air, and seemed to be coming from everywhere. Tahu looked and saw that the Visorak were equally confused.

Then, without warning, the source presented itself. Thousands of fireflyers swarmed out of the ravine and surged toward Tahu. The Toa closed his eyes and prepared for the worst, but the insects went right around him and began attacking the Visorak. The Visorak dropped Pohatu and tried to fend off their assailants, but the fireflyers' small size and sheer numbers made them impossible to get rid of.

Tahu approached the cocoon containing his brother. He moved cautiously, not wanting to disturb the swarming insects. Looking around on the ground, he saw a sharp rock and sliced open Pohatu's cocoon with it.

"Tahu, what happened?" asked Pohatu.

"There's no time to talk," replied the Fire Toa as he picked up his brother. "We need to get out of here before those fireflyers change their minds." With that, he jumped from the cliff and rocketed out over the ravine. Pohatu looked at his brother in disbelief.

"Tahu, do realize what you're doing?"

"Um, saving you?"

"No, you're flying! The Toa who was afraid of heights is flying!"

Before Tahu could comment, a buzzing by his ear caused him to turn his head. A single fireflyer was flying next to him. It buzzed by and landed on Pohatu's mask.

"What's it doing?" Tahu wondered aloud.

"Well, as long as it doesn't sting me," replied the Stone Toa, "I think I'll have to let it stay."

The insect crawled up on top of Pohatu's Kakama and laid down.

"I think it wants a ride," said Tahu.

* * *

As Kopaka and Gali stood surrounded by over a score of Visorak, Gali could not help wondering, "How are going to get out of this one?"

As the Visorak began to charge their spinners, Kopaka threw up an ice wall.

"Well, that won't last long," he said, as spinners began to pound the barricade, "but it'll buy us some time to think. Any ideas?"

The Visorak continued to pummel the ice wall. Within seconds, they had almost put a hole through it. Suddenly, it fell apart with a loud crash and a cascade of water swept out, washing the creatures aside.

"Go!" cried Kopaka.

The two Toa took off running; Gali, more used to the area's soft soil, quickly outdistanced her brother. Kopaka looked ahead with his Mask of Vision and saw the danger. Before he could shout a warning, a pair of Oohnorak jumped out of a tree and struck Gali with their spinners. Kopaka charged, brandishing his sword. Freezing the two creatures in a block of ice, he turned to Gali.

"Gali, can you get up?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"No, I...I'm numb all over," she replied, her voice shaking.

"Here," Kopaka bent down and picked her up. Turning to go, he saw that the Visorak had caught up with him.

"Kopaka, go on without me," said Gali. "Save yourself!"

"Gali, I ---" A sharp hissing interrupted the Toa of Ice. Turning around, he saw a pair of doom vipers slithering down a nearby cliff. The serpents glided past the two Toa and set themselves between them and the Visorak. As the Visorak sized up their new enemies, the larger of the vipers turned one of its heads toward the Toa with a look that said, "Get out of here before I change my mind."

Kopaka needed no further prompting. He turned and ran, heading south toward Ziran's cave, wondering all the while what in the world had just happened.

* * *

_Bionicle and related characters (c) LEGO_

_Huna Nui and related characters (c) me_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

As Onua pulled himself through the water, he realized he was having fun.

"No, stay focused," he thought. He breached the surface and drank in a huge gulp of air, then dove and continued pursuing the Takea. He was almost upon it when it swerved sharply, dropped Ziran, and turned to attack the Toa of Earth.

"It knew I was there the whole time!" he thought, narrowly avoiding the shark's teeth. He tried to fight back, but unused to the water, the Takea was able to avoid every one of his attacks.

As Onua continued to battle for his life, Turaga Kalac's words echoed in his head, "The elements are all connected."

"Wait, that's it."

Onua dodged the shark's attack and dove toward the sea bed. Digging his hands into the sea bottom, he summoned more willpower than he had ever dreamed possible. Millions of grains of silt and sand floated up into the water, clouding the Takea's vision. Then, Onua reached out to each individual grain and caused it to spin. Using each grain as a microscopic stirring rod, he created an undersea tornado. Onua sent it hurtling after the shark, driving it off long enough for him to grab Ziran and start swimming back to shore.

He broke the surface and inhaled in a huge breath of air. Holding the unconscious Ziran above the water, he began making his way to the beach. As he reached the beach, he looked up just in time to see a Rhotuka fly at him and paralyze him. Lying on his face, he could see the Vohtarak that he had dropped from the cliff top had apparently survived and were not happy about what had happened. The Visorak advanced on the Toa of Earth, and all he could do was brace himself and wait for the worst.

Suddenly, a small sand dune erupted in a cloud of dust and debris. Something shot out of it at an incredible speed and barreled into the Visorak. Onua could not see what was happening, but the sounds of squealing Visorak told him that whatever had just arrived was winning.

After a few moments of silence, Onua felt a clawed hand flip him over. When he looked up, he was staring into the face of what appeared to be a wolf-like creature, but the gleam of intelligence in the being's eyes told the Toa that this was no Rahi.

The strange being checked Onua over. Upon seeing that he was fine, he turned his attention to Ziran.

"Is he alright?" asked Onua.

"Well, he's breathing. And he appears to have inhaled some sea water," said the other being, "but he'll be fine once he wakes up."

"Thanks for saving us," said Onua, grateful to the other creature.

"It's my job, Toa. Oh, by the way, my name's Torbran."

As Torbran turned to tend to Ziran, Onua felt a sort of kinship with the stoic creature. The wolflike being pulled him into an sitting position; then, turning to the cliffside, he called out in a loud squeaky voice.

Onua gave him a confused look, "That sounded like a bird."

Torbran sat down next to the Toa. "It was supposed to Onua." Seeing the even more confused look on the Toa's face, Torbran said, "Yes, I know your name. I know a lot more about you as well, like you were afraid of drowning. What came over you?"

Taken aback, Onua fumbled for an answer, "Well, uh, I, uh, don't...know. It all happened so fast, I didn't think about it much."

Torbran's ears perked up, "Well, we can discuss it later. Our rides our here."

Onua looked up and saw two Gukko birds soaring down towards them. One of them was carrying a large branch full of leaves in its talon; the other had a beak full of small plants. The two of them landed just feet from the three beings on the beach and put their loads down on the sand.

Torbran approached the pair and began speaking to them in a strange, birdlike language. He then reached into his pack and pulled out a small bowl and stone and dipped his bowl in the sea water. Then he sniffed several of the leaves before putting several in the bowl. He did the same with the small plants. After mashing the concoction with his stone, he walked over to Onua and said, "You need to drink this."

"What is it?" asked Onua, a little apprehensively.

"It will cure your paralysis. Now open up."

The black and silver being tipped back the Toa's head and poured the mixture into his open mouth. Immediately, Onua spit most of it back out and wiped his mouth.

"That's the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted!" he exclaimed.

"But it worked. Try standing up," suggested Torbran.

Onua turned around and stood up. Testing his legs, he took a few steps.

"Thank you very much, Torbran. Why don't you give some to Ziran."

"I would," Torbran replied, "but I can only administer it when he's awake. Help me put him on Wissil's back."

"Wissil?"

"That's the Gukko on the left; the other one is Churip-ik. Those are rough transliterations of their Avian names."

Onua picked up the unconscious Ziran and placed him on the bird's back. Then, Torbran helped the Toa onto Churip.  
Climbing up behind Ziran, Torbran whistled to the two birds, and they took off into the sky.

Onua looked down at the landscape beneath him and wondered, "I wonder who this Torbran really is."

* * *

_Bionicle and all related characters (c) LEGO_

_Huna Nui and related characters (c) me_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"How did you know where Ziran's cave is?" asked Onua as Torbran pulled back the false wall that covered the cave's entrance.

"I have my ways," replied Torbran. Upon seeing the suspicious look on the Toa's face, a slight smile crossed his face. "Don't worry. I'm not evil, if that's what you're thinking," he stated.

"No, it wasn't." Upon entering the empty cave, Onua commented, "We must be the first ones back."

As the Earth Toa set the still unconscious Ziran against the wall, Torbran picked a tablet off of Ziran's shelf and said, "And Lewa is just now arriving."

Onua peered out of the cave and saw that, indeed, Lewa had arrived, but he was being carried by a giant flying lizard. As it got closer, Onua could see that it was a phase dragon. As Onua tried to make sense of what he was seeing, Torbran brushed by him and approached the creature as it landed. As he approached, the dragon set Lewa down and practically bounded towards Torbran like a pet Ussal when its master comes home.

Lewa walked over with his brother and asked, "Who's 'Rahi breath' over there?"

"His name is Torbran, and he saved me and Ziran, so I don't think he's dangerous," replied the Earth Toa.

"Speaking of save-rescuing, that phase dragon save-rescued me from Sidorak's base-ship."

"Save the stories for when the others get here. I don't want to have to hear you tell a tale twice," Onua responded cheerfully.

A low grunt caught the Toa's attention. The phase dragon and Torbran were standing near them.

"Rhohren wants me to tell you," said Torbran, "that any friend of 'Wolf-Toa' is a friend of his and that if you need his help, he is always willing."  
Torbran turned and patted the dragon on the snout, and with that, the creature flew off.

As the Rahi flew away, Lewa turned to Torbran in confusion. "Wolf-Toa?" he asked.

"That's what Rhohren calls me in his own language," Torbran replied. "I saved his life once, and he's been a great ally ever since then."

"Then, I guess you can speak-talk to Rahi then, right?" asked Lewa.

"Correct."

"I think I see something flying towards us," said Onua, shading his eyes. "Lewa, can you tell what it is?"

"Well," replied the Hordika, "it's not a Rahi. Wait, it can't be. That's Tahu! And he's quick-soaring!"

The Toa could not believe their eyes as Tahu, carrying Pohatu, swooped and landed next to them.

"What do you think, Lewa?" he asked.

"You are absolutely crazy-mad!" Lewa exclaimed, "I'm supposed to be the only flying Toa-hero around here!"

"Hey, for his first flight," said Pohatu, "he wasn't half bad."

"Not half bad at what?" asked Ziran. As he emerged from his cave, Lewa handed him his staff, and he leaned on it for support.

"I'll tell you later," Tahu replied. "By the way, who's the guy over there that's talking to a bug?"

The others looked and saw Torbran apparently having a conversation with the fireflyer that had ridden on Pohatu's mask.

"That's Torbran, a good friend of mine," answered Ziran.

"You know him?" asked Onua.

"Yes, and the fireflyer's name is Veyza. She's the queen of the island's fireflyers."

Upon seeing the Toa's befuddled expressions, Ziran said, "I'll explain later, after Kopaka and Gali get here. Which would be right about . . . now."

With that, the Toa of Ice and Water skated into view aboard Kopaka's ice slide.

"We have quite a story to tell all of you," said Gali, as she cautiously stepped off the ice.

"So, do we," replied Pohatu, "and I'm guessing the others do, too. No doubt we all want to hear them, so why don't we tell our tales while Ziran makes the mask?"

* * *

As Ziran poured the mixture of molten protodermis and the other substances the Toa had gathered into his mold, he reached out his mind to Torbran who was listening to the Toa tell their tales, "Do you think we should we tell them?"

"I was wondering the same thing myself," replied the wolf-like being mentally.

"I'm still wondering if we should have helped them to begin with."

"Let me think. Mata Nui's chosen warriors most likely getting mutated and quite possibly getting killed by a raving lunatic who is backed by legions of brutal, sadistic Rahi. Sounds like a good reason to me."

"Alright, but let's tell them after we cure Lewa. That way, everyone will be in a good mood."

A few minutes later, after the mask had cooled, Ziran pulled it from its mold. "Lewa," he said, as he handed the Hordika the one thing that could cure him, "I think this is yours."

Lewa reached for the mask as if it was worth its weight in gold. Taking it gingerly in his claws, he slowly placed it on his face. As he activated it, he spread his arms and bathed in the healing energy it released. The mask began to glow brighter and brighter, finally the other beings in the cave had to cover their eyes to stave off the painful glow. Within moments, the light had faded, and when the Toa looked back, there before them stood a fully restored Toa Lewa.

"Yes!" he cried, "It worked. I'm heal-cured!"

* * *

"So, let me see if I've got this straight, Ziran," said Gali, after he had finished his tale. "You and Torbran are members of a secret organization called the Order of Mata Nui. You have been here for the last 5,000 years, guarding the island and helping its inhabitants, all the while, keeping your presence a secret."

"That's correct. The only reason we felt that we should tell you this," said Ziran, "is that we think that you can be trusted with this information. You must not tell anyone about this, not even your Turaga. We also feel that, since we want to help you, you have a right to know who we really are. Now, if you find this too much to handle and don't want our help, we understand, but if you want our help, we will gladly give it to you."

"Not want your help!" exclaimed Pohatu, "Now that we know just how you can help us, I think we need you even more than before."

"I agree," said Tahu, approaching the pair, "I had my doubts about the pair of you, with your timely appearances and everything, but if you are really who you say you are, than I would ask that you help us all you can."

"I've got it!" exclaimed Onua. "I know how we can get rid of the Visorak."

"How's that, Onua?" asked Kopaka.

"Well, it works like this..."

* * *

_Bionicle and related characters (c) LEGO_

_Huna Nui and related characters (c) me_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The next night, Kopaka and Torbran peered over a sand dune on Huna Nui's southern coast and saw Sidorak's base sailing straight for the shore. Under normal circumstances, they probably would have been worried by the sight, but this night was anything but ordinary. Beneath the surface, Gali, with a dozen Kortano all under Ziran's control, were pulling the ship closer to shore. By now, it had stopped about 200 bio from shore.

"Time for Phase Two," thought the Ice Toa.

He formed an icicle in his hand and looked at Torbran who nodded. With that, Kopaka hefted the icicle toward a small dune closer to the shore, landing it square in the middle of his target.

After a few moments, the dune sank into the surrounding sand, revealing the Toa of Earth and Stone. As quickly and quietly as possible, the two of them made for the battleship. Upon reaching the water's edge, they were joined by Gali, who emerged from the surf, and Ziran, who appeared next to them.

"Ready?" asked the small creature.

The others nodded. With that, the four of them turned their attention to the huge mass of metal in front of them. Pohatu slammed his foot on the ground, while Onua dug his claws into the sand. Combining their powers, they extended the island. A ring of rock pillars rose out of the water, surrounding the ship, while at the same time, a huge mound of silt formed under the ship, holding it firmly in place.

And with all this activity beneath the water, not a sound was to be heard. Gali, with her feet in the water, kept the water as smooth as polished crystal, not letting so much as one drop leave the ocean's surface.

At the same time, Ziran was throwing every ounce of mental energy toward his task. Combining his powers, he simultaneously read the minds of every creature on the ship and erased any thought regarding their activity.

Within minutes, their job was done. Ziran threw one last burst of energy at the ship.

"Until morning, no one will notice their position," he said. "Let's go meet up with the others.

The four beings moved inland to a small clearing where Torbran and the other Toa had a small fire blazing.

"Is everything ready?" asked Torbran.

"Absolutely," replied Pohatu.

"Good," answered Tahu, "Everyone, take your positions and get what sleep you can. Tomorrow, we strike."

As the others walked off into the night, Gali lay down near the fire with the rest of her team. As she drifted into the realm of sleep, she knew this battle would decide the fate of her island, and as she slept, she dreamed of another fateful battle in the Aquaton war.

* * *

"Toa," said Makuta Antroz to the gathered heroes, "I could not be more honored than I am today, fighting alongside such brave heroes. You have all made great sacrifices in this war, through loss of life and limb. But today, your sacrifices will be rewarded. The Aquaton depend on a single supply line, deep beneath the ocean. If we can block it off, the tide will turn in our favor. Be brave, be strong, and remember your fallen comrades as we fight today for their sake!"

A rousing cheer arose on the beach as the Toa splashed through the waves and jumped into the sub pods that were moored offshore. As the pods shot out to sea and dove beneath the surface, the pod containing Lewa, Narthex, and three other Toa took the lead, followed closely by Makuta Antroz, who had shapeshifted into a form more conducive to the environment. Narthex, being the only Toa with a Kanohi Elda, was responsible for finding the undersea base and supply route. Within moments, he knew just where to go.

"Dive deeper and follow that trench," he said to Lewa, who was piloting the craft. Lewa made for the trench, and the other subs followed suit. Sea Rahi scattered before the fleet as they entered the gorge at the bottom of the sea.

Lewa turned to one of the other Toa, "Quick-tell the others to be on the lookout, Vakai." The Toa of Fire nodded, and activating his Kanohi Suletu, he sent a mental message to the other Toa.

Within moments, the fleet was out of the trench and on the open sea floor. Lewa pulled his vessel left, steering it along the cliff wall. As the other vessels followed suit, their destination appeared before them.

On the sea bed, tucked against the cliff, was the Aquaton's base camp. Crafts of various sizes lay around the camp while Aquaton milled about between hastily constructed buildings, oblivious to the force about to move in upon them.

"Ready weapons, Kanohi, and waterbreathers!" said Lewa, whose message was conveyed by Vakai. The Matoran of Ga-Huna had supplied each Toa with a waterbreather, a safety device kept by each of the Ga-Matoran in the event that their sub pod should sink. As its name implied, they allowed surface dwellers to survive underwater for a few hours. And while the Matoran made an effort to not use them, the Toa knew that, today, these devices would be invaluable.

The Toa were almost upon the base when the Aquaton noticed the approaching fleet and scrambled to prepare for battle. They had placed no guard, thinking that the surface dwellers would never find them out here, and the Toa fleet swept over the base, dropping scores of Toa on the Aquaton.

The battle quickly became one-sided. While the Aquaton were more accustomed to undersea fighting, the Toa's long ranged abilities, along with the help of energy blasts from the circling sub pods, gave them a distinct edge. The Toa of Sonics, Lighting, and Water, made more powerful by the environment, proved to be the most efficient against the Aquaton's infantry, and the troops that swam up to meet them were quickly taken care of. Most of the Toa of Fire and Air, made weaker by their watery surroundings, stayed in the sub pods and peppered the camp with energy bolts. The rest of the Toa set to work destroying the Aquaton's camp, then turned on the enemies themselves. Antroz joined in the fray, hurling a thousand different energies into the oncoming forces, as giddy as a Ga-Matoran on her first day of school.

As the battle raged at the Aquaton camp, a few subs slipped away, carrying several Toa, mostly of Earth, Stone, and Gravity. Lewa and Narthex's pod pulled into the lead again; this time, they were following the distinct signs on the ocean floor that showed where the Aquaton supply route lay.

"Are you sure this will quick-work?" asked Lewa.

"Sure it will," replied a Toa of Stone named Ferrar. "As an old friend of mine would put it, 'The Takea strikes for it knows it is feared, but strike back, and it flees in terror."

"Hmm, what was your friend's name?" asked Narthex.

"Velika," said Ferrar.

As the pods continued on, they saw a chain of mountains rising from the sea floor, as well as the weak point that Amphibax had told them about: a pass through the mountains. The pilots steered their vehicles to the top of the cliff wall over the pass. Two dozen Toa dropped from the crafts and began filling the pass with rubble.

"We need to hurry," said Ferrar as he chucked another boulder over the edge. "They'll be driving the Aquaton here within a few minutes."

Back at the Aquaton's base, things were going badly for the Aquaton, it was becoming evident that they were fighting a losing battle.

"Retreat!" cried one of them, "Fall back to the mountains."

As the Aquaton took off, the Toa followed, hurling elemental blasts at their retreating foes. Within minutes, both forces had reached the mountain pass, and the Aquaton were trapped. A few tried to swim up and over the Toa, but a few stone fists and increasings of gravity quickly changed their minds.

As the Aquaton stood as still as stones, Antroz approached them and said, "By rights, I could kill you all. You have invaded another land without reason and killed its inhabitants. You are no better than the scum beneath your feet. But, I won't. You will be allowed to return to your own lands, on the condition that you never leave that land again. And also, that you give me your king."

The creatures moved as one and dragged one of their number to the front. The astonished creature looked back at his subjects, unable to speak. Before he could move, Antroz grabbed him with one hand as his other hand began to crackle with energy. The power grew and grew until it became a solid sphere of power. The Makuta raised his hand and brought it down on the ruler's neck with a resounding crack.

* * *

Gali awoke to a loud crack nearby. Sitting up, she saw Onua break a large branch in half and feed it to the fire. Kopaka was sitting nearby.

"It's almost dawn, sister," he said. "Better get ready. We start soon."

* * *

_Bionicle and related characters (c) LEGO_

_Huna Nui and related characters (c) me_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Sidorak awoke to the sunlight streaming in through his window.

"Ah, what a perfect day for destruction!" he exclaimed as he strode into his throne room. "The sun is shining, the air is clean, and the island couldn't --- Wait, the island? Why are we so close to the island?"

He rushed to the balcony and looked down at the troops milling around on the deck. No one acted as if anything was out of the ordinary. The fact that all he saw was normality made him panic even more.

Suddenly, a small creature appeared in the air in front of him, startling him so, that he fell backwards onto the floor.

"Who are you? And what have you done with my ship?" exclaimed Sidorak, struggling back to his feet.

Ziran ignored the question. "I have a message from the island's Toa. Gather your forces and leave under your own power or they will make you leave."

"Ha, you think I'm afraid of a few measly Toa?"

"So be it." With that, Ziran disappeared. An instant later, two explosions rocked the ship.

"Guards!" cried Sidorak, charging out of his chambers. "Sound the alarm! Prepare for battle!"

At the ship's stern, Pohatu, Lewa, and Tahu broke into the ship's engine room and began reeking havoc. Lewa used his wind powers to blow every other creature out of the room and slam the door behind them, while Tahu and Pohatu began destroying the ship's engines.

As Pohatu's giant stone hands tore through the engines' inner workings, he said, "This is fun! I could do this all day!"

"Easy-good for you to say!" Lewa exclaimed, throwing a Vohtahrok out the door.

At the other end of the ship, Kopaka and Onua smashed through the wall into the launch room, followed by Gali pulling a wall of water behind her.

As the creatures in the room were swept out into the hold, the Toa turned their attention to the launching equipment.

"We need to head to the deck when we're done here," said Kopaka.

"I'm glad," Onua jovially replied, "I'm feeling a bit claustrophobic down here."

"You should talk!" exclaimed Gali, flashing him a smile.

Moments later, two holes were torn into the deck. Two pillars grew up through the holes, one of stone and one of ice. As the two teams met at mid deck, Lewa and Gali rushed together and summoned a thunderstorm. As the other Toa began fighting the oncoming forces, Lewa, carrying Ziran's staff of stealth, flew up and disappeared.

"Stage 3," thought Onua as he watched his brother go.

The fighting raged for several minutes, with neither side making any advances. Then suddenly, the battle changed. Onua had his hands full with a Gate Guardian when something struck him from behind. He fell forward onto his hands and knees, his strength completely gone. He looked and saw a disk on the ground, a weaken disk.

He looked up and saw a birdlike creature hovering over him. Elkana smiled as a pair of Visorak began wrapping up the Toa of Earth. The viceroy shot an energy net at Tahu, tangling up the Toa enough to be captured. Then, in rapid succession, hitting Kopaka with a lightning blast, Pohatu with a freeze disk, and Gali with another energy net, he allowed the Huna Nui's remaining defenders to be captured.

"Well done, Elkana," said Sidorak, emerging from his tower. "I gave you Toa a chance to join me and live, but now, since you have ignored my offer and stood in my way, you must die!"

As Sidorak raised his hand to signal the heroes demise, a sonic blast exploded over the deck. As creatures began doubling over in pain, trying in vain to escape the pain, a giant fireball erupted into the air and the Toa's cocoons burst to pieces. Looking up, Tahu saw what was causing them. Dozens of Toa were falling from the balcony, and in the lead, beaming like a lightstone, was Lewa. Three Toa had remained on the balcony, and Tahu could not shake the feeling that he had seen them before. Then, it hit him. The Toa emitting a power scream was Narthex, the Toa of Stone wearing a Matatu was Ferrar, and the Toa of Fire was Vakai.

As this realization struck him, he heard a cacophony of noises coming from the island and from the ocean. Looking back toward shore, he saw hordes of Rahi pouring from the trees and swooping in from the sky. Turning to the sea, he saw the wakes of hundreds of sea creatures swimming towards the ship.

Torbran stood at the edge of the woods, watching the Rahi stream out around him. As much as he wanted to help them, he knew his secrecy was too valuable to be jeopardized by a battle.

"Don't be so disappointed, Torbran," said a voice in his head. Looking out over the ocean, his keen eyes caught sight of the white creature who was speaking to him.

"I know, Ziran. I shouldn't be disappointed," Torbran replied. "I just wish I could help."

"You have, my friend. Without you, this wouldn't be happening," said Ziran. "Take that to heart, these Toa owe you their lives."

Back at the ship, Phase 4 of the plan was going into effect. Dozens of Toa descended to the base of the ship, and combining their powers, sank the ship and the land around it into the surrounding waters. At the same time, a half-a-dozen Toa of Stone ran to the bow and formed a stone bridge to the island, allowing the Rahi forces to run onto the ship's deck.

As all this was happening, Kopaka lay on the deck, soaked by the rain and convulsing from the electricity running through his body. As he lay in the rain, he felt a hand touch his side. Instantly, the pain left his body. As he turned over to see his healer, he saw a Toa of Water looking back at him. As she helped him up, something about her looked familiar.

Then, as his eyes traced the lines on her stylized Kakama, he gasped, "Atuuh!"

As tears streamed down her face, she sobbed, "Yes, Kopaka, I'm back."

As the two of them embraced in the middle of the battle, Kopaka, for the first time in 900 years, cried. Never in his life had he felt this way.

"Incoming," he said, looking over her shoulder. Atuuh grabbed Kopaka's hands and spun him around. Three Visorak were kicked over the edge by Kopaka's spinning feet.

As Atuuh set Kopaka down, she wiped her eyes and said, "Let's catch up later. We have some work here to do."

Tahu fought his way over to where Vakai was fending off a pair of venom flyers.

"Vakai, thanks for sending off the signal," he cried over the roar of battle.

"No problem! It was the least I could do after Lewa healed us. Besides, I owed you guys from back in the Aquaton war," replied the other Toa of Fire.

Tahu threw another fireball at a Gate Guardian. "You mean the time they threw you in a cage with a bunch of trained Takea? Yeah, you did."

Onua smashed through a veritable wall of creatures to join with Ferrar. The Toa of Stone was a whirlwind of mental energy, his telekinesis sweeping in massive waves.

"Ferrar! My friend!" cried Onua. The Toa of Stone smiled as he let Onua into the eye of his storm.

"Good to see you again," said Ferrar. "I must say, I didn't expect to awaken to something like this."

"Indeed, but would you rather wake up to sunshine and cool breezes?" asked Onua.

Ferrar thought for a moment. "No, that would too boring."

Lewa swooped in over the crowds of creatures and blew a Keelerak off of Narthex. Helping his friend up, Narthex looked at the Rahi that had come from the island and asked, "Where did all these Rahi come from?"

Lewa smiled and said, "Let's just say a friend of mine as some 'connection-ties.'"

As the two of them began fighting back to back, Lewa looked around in satisfaction. Rahi of every species on land and sea were tearing into the Visorak's forces. Muaka and Kane-Ra were fighting side by side. Chute spiders and Fikou were giving the Visorak a taste of their own medicine. Fireflyers and dust darters were swarming in clouds of red and grey, using their numbers to overwhelm their enemies. Kortano pulled Visorak down into the water, while Protodrakes soared over the deck, pushing their enemies over the edge.

Toa of every element were dealing heavy blows to their Rahi foes. A Toa of Plant Life had summoned a jungles worth of vines. A Toa of Lightning had flown above the battle and tapped into the storm's energies, raining bolts of electricity down on the deck. A Toa of Air, equipped with a Faxon, had copied the Rhotuka power of the venom flyers, disabling any that tried to take off. Two Toa of Gravity were tag-teaming, first eliminating and then increasing a foe's personal gravity, slamming them down on the deck.

As Lewa took all this in, he felt proud of himself. Good had won, evil had lost, and he had had some fun getting it done.

* * *

_Bionicle and related characters (c) LEGO_

_Huna Nui and related characters (c) me_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**Tahu looked around, satisfied with what he saw. Having been subdued by the combined forces of Toa and Rahi, the Visorak and their allies were gathered on the deck, waiting for their fate to be handed to them.

Two Toa stood in the center of the swarm, both wearing Kanohi Olmak, ready to dispense justice. Activating their masks, a dozen gates opened in midst of the horde and began sucking the insectoid creatures through to parts unknown. Portals opened and closed with astounding frequency, scattering the Visorak across the universe.

As the last Visorak were pulled through the gates, Sidorak and Elkana were brought forward. The two stood before Tahu, waiting for him to decide their destiny.

Tahu looked at them, his eyes as hard as steel. "You two are the most despicable creatures ever spawned by this world. I could kill you right now —"

"You're bluffing!" cried Elkana, "Toa never have the guts to kill their —"

Tahu slapped the viceroy across the face. "As I was saying, I could kill you right now, but I won't. I don't have to. I or any one of these Toa could do things to you that would make you beg for death."

"You wouldn't dare!" declared Sidorak.

Tahu smiled and motioned to the Toa behind him. Several Toa stepped forward.

Gali gasped. "Is Tahu serious?" she thought. As the Toa pointed their weapons at the two beings, Gali turned away. The screams she could hear piercing the air sent shivers down her back.

As the Toa backed away, Tahu said, "Some might have called that torture. I call it retribution."

The two beings, now on their knees, looked up at the Toa Mata of Fire. "I know that's not it," said Elkana. "What now? Freeze me in a iceberg and send me out to sea, rip out my mechanical parts, melt off my armor?"

"No, actually, I was thinking something more like this."

One of the Olmak-bearing Toa, an Earth Toa, stepped forward and summoned two portals.

As the portals moved towards the two beings, the Toa surrounding them stood and watched. As the captives were sucked through, a cheer rose from the masses. The threat of the Visorak was gone.

"Sidorak and Elkana have been sent to their homelands, to be disgraced and humiliated by their peoples," said Tahu. "Now we need to get out of here. Help those who can't walk, and let's get going. Lewa," he called, "go to Le-Huna and get it ready for us."

"Right," said Lewa. Grabbing Narthex, he headed over the stone bridge. After explaining what they were doing, he asked, "Any questions?"

"Yes, in fact," said the Sonics Toa, "Why do you need me?"

Grabbing Narthex by the shoulders and soaring inland, Lewa responded, "I need someone to speak-talk to."

As the two Toa soared over the forest, flying toward Le-Huna, Lewa pulled a small device out of his pack.

"What's that?" asked Narthex.

"It's a seek-tracking device. It show-tells me where Le-Huna is," Lewa responded.

"You don't know where your village is?"

"You'll see."

Having found the location, Lewa headed towards it. As they swooped over the treetops, Narthex wondered why he had never visited Lewa's village on his previous visit. "Oh well," he thought, "there's always a first time."

As they neared the village, Lewa entered a large cloud.

"That's a little stupid," thought Narthex. "We could get thrown by some turbulence or something."

But when the clouds parted, Narthex realized that Lewa had been right, because Le-Huna stood before them. Lewa touched down and made his way to Turaga Hezalu's home. He practically had to drag Narthex along, so entranced was he by the city's architecture and setup. Arriving at the Turaga's suite, he found Hezalu in a discussion with a Matoran.

"We have to assume the worst, Turaga," said the Matoran. "If we haven't heard from the Toa by now, we --- Oh Toa Lewa!"

The Matoran and Turaga bowed as the two Toa entered the room.

"I sure-guess that settles it, Zoger," said Hezalu. "Lewa, who is your friend?"

"Turaga, this is Narthex. He quick-came to fight during the Aquaton war," responded Lewa. "Narthex, this is Hezalu, Le-Huna's Turaga-elder, and Zoger, captain of Le-Huna Airship Force."

"Pleased to meet you," said the Sonics Toa, bowing courteously.

"Hear-listen, Turaga," said Lewa. "We have a bit of a situation on our hands."

After Lewa had briefly explained the situation, Hezalu nodded and called, "Trenah!"

A Rau-wearing Le-Matoran scampered into the room.

"This is my helper-aide, Trenah," Hezalu explained to Narthex. "Trenah, this is Toa-hero Narthex. I need you to guide-take him first to the security room and deactivate the cloud-mist generators, and then to the control room where he will show you where to steer the village."

"But Turaga," asked the aide, "won't shutting off the generators compromise our security?"

"Yes, it will, but right now, there are more important things to worry-fret about. Now hop-jump to it."

As Narthex and Trenah left the room, Hezalu picked up his staff and followed them. "You two need to come with me," he said to Lewa and Zoger. "We need to get-grab some more Matoran and make some room-space in the city center-hall. Looks like we're having a slumber party!"

* * *

As night fell, Le-Huna was abuzz with activity. A large meal was served in the town hall for the heroes that would be spending the night in the building that night. Matoran bustled in and out of the hall carrying large trays of food. Injured Toa were treated with the best the air village had to offer.

The Toa Mata were making the most of the situation. Tahu was discussing battle strategies with some other veteran Toa. Gali was helping the healers with their work. Lewa, Narthex, and several other Toa were having a bragging contest. Kopaka and Atuuh snuck out a side door to enjoy the night sky, and Pohatu was making the most of the meal. Onua was talking with another Earth Toa when he heard a voice in his head, "Goodbye, Onua."

Looking up, Onua saw Ziran and Torbran peering in through a skylight.

'You probably won't see us again," said Ziran, "but remember, we'll always be fighting alongside you and watching out for you."

"Farewell," thought Onua, "we'll always remember you."

"Onua?" asked Ruzain.

"Hmm."

"What are you looking at?"

Looking back up, Onua saw only the night sky in the skylight. "Oh, nothing."

The next morning, the Toa were being served breakfast while the six Turaga met in Hezalu's home. Apparently, Cothan had found a tablet in his library that detailed a cure for Hordika venom.

The Toa Mata sat together for breakfast.

"Gee, I wonder where that tablet came from?" asked Pohatu, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yeah, really," replied Lewa.

"Tahu," said Gali, "when do you think we should tell the Turaga about your vision?"

"I think we should wait," answered Tahu. "From what Hezalu told me, the Turaga want to plot a map of all the other Toa's homelands, so they can be sent home, and I don't feel right dampening their spirits with bad news."

As if on cue, the Turaga entered the building and walked up on the stage in the back of the room. Turaga Orli tapped his staff on the stage, calling for silence.

"Toa," he said, once the noise had settled down, "we Turaga want to thank you for helping to save our island, and we want to show you our thanks by helping you get home. We have also found a cure of Visorak venom that we wish to share with you. If you would all come by our table and tell us where your homeland is, it would help us greatly."

* * *

Days later, as final preparations were underway, a small group of Toa approached the Turaga who had gathered atop a sand dune on Huna Nui's southern shore.

"Turaga," said the Toa of Ice, "we have something to tell you."

"What is it, Toa?" asked Nerah.

"Last night," said the Toa of Water, "we all ---"

"Turaga!" came a cry from down the beach.

The Toa and Turaga turned to see the Toa Mata approaching.

"Turaga," said Tahu, "there's something we need to tell you." He sighed. "A few days, Mata Nui informed me in a vision that it is time for us to move on."

"We, too, were given a message by the Great Spirit," said the other Fire Toa. "He told us that we are to stay here and guard the island in your place."

Kopaka approached the Toa of Water and took her hand. "If there was anyone I would trust with this island, Atuuh, it would be you."

Lewa put his hand on the Toa of Sonics' shoulder. "The same goes for me, Narthex, you're a great-good friend, and an even better fighter."

Tahu turned to address the other Toa. "I have only known the rest of you for a few days. But if the Great Spirit has chosen you, I'm sure there could be no better choices for the job. Before we enter our canisters and leave for parts unknown, I would like to know your names, so that we can know in whose hands we leave our home in."

The Toa stepped forward.

"Atuuh, Toa of Water."

"Narthex, Toa of Sonics."

"Ruzain, Toa of Earth."

"Nuarik, Toa of Plant Life."

"Nyokah, Toa of Lightning.

"Kryaco, Toa of Ice."

"Moltran, Toa of Fire."

"Toa," said Tahu, motioning to the Turaga, "you have been called together from different lands for a single purpose. Protect this island and those who live here. This is your new destiny."

* * *

_Bionicle and related characters (c) LEGO_

_Huna Nui and related characters (c) me_


End file.
